Duk County: The Most Marginalized County in the Newly Established Jonglei State
We “Duk County” Are Not Moulds in the Newly Created Jonglei State
By Guong Manyiel Guong, Juba, South Sudan
January 22, 2016 (SSB) —- Congratulations to the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Gen. Salva Kiir Mayaardit for scaling the tremendous heights and setting new standards by splitting South Sudan’s 10 states into 28 states which is people’s choice. I do admire you for your peace-loving nature in South Sudan which can be evidenced by a couple of pardons and amnesties you’ve humbly gave. I am overjoyed with your success towards peace thus peace is adage and titular in humans veins. Shine on, Mr. President! I hope former SPLA spokesman, Philip Aguer Panyang, now the first governor of the newly created Jonglei State, will improve fragile unity, security and re-activate fair distribution of power and resources among the peace-loving people of Jonglei State. Transparency is key.
Governor Aguer was chosen as a king by the sons and daughters of Greater Bor (namely Bor, Twic East and Duk Counties). I still hope and believe that you’ll have the best at your portfolio Mr. Governor if you don’t pay much attention to anybody who comes to you as a good advisor. I hope you would not be like your predecessors. Greater Bor people experienced divisive governance during the times of Philip Thon and Kuol Manyang as governors of old Jonglei State. I applause the recently relieved Governor John Kong Nyuon for coming with some improvements in the aspects of peace and unity. I’m not in position to denigrate some leaders but the likes of Philip Thon Leek, Kuol Manyang, Makuei Lueth, Deng Dau and a few to mention, have failed to unite people of Greater Bor during their tenure. So, I don’t want you Philip Aguer to be like them. Let your government be a youthful government like the governments of other states. Both state and national MPs of Duk County have convincingly failed to represent people of Duk at their levels. Time for them to leave their parliamentary seats for young lads has come.
I am writing this piece of article simply because there is something un-voluptuous and sedimental in the distribution of powers and allocation of resources in the newly created Jonglei State. According to David Easton, politics is defined as “authoritative allocation of resources and values in a society”. But in Jonglei State there are some people with disabilities in their minds when it comes to distribution of power and allocation of resources to people. They quickly show imbalances because of their greediness by always wanting to have bigger shares. Personally, I take it as sedition and political punditry in a jungle which is impossible because we detect it early. The quote goes “cracking frog does not prevent a donkey from drinking water”.
We “Duk County”, are not moulds in the newly created Jonglei State. We are peace-loving people to neighbours. We don’t envy people. We care for humanity. We help welcome and accommodate travelers and provide them with essential needs as cited by our talented and renowned musicians Panchol Deng Ajang and Tor Awuou Ader respectively, that “Baai e pan yennë cam abac” (You can do anything and eat for free in Duk) and “piny adït paanden ë Duk cake juőr cëng” (in Duk, one can live free without any discrimination).
Duk County is the largest county in Jonglei State. It has 6 Payams and more than 15 Bumas. Its population is also very huge but because most of its inhabitants live in inaccessible areas like swampy areas (Toc) and a good number of citizens reside in Twic East and Bor counties due to insecurity, Duk County is said to be less in population compared to other counties. To prove you wrong that Duk County is big in terms of population, I call for a new census to take place. Why is Duk always small when it’s time of resource distribution and power sharing? But when it is time of war, Duk County is bigger than the other counties in terms of land size and population. I wonder! I appreciate late Dr. Garang de Mabior for a quick response by rewarding us with a county “Duk” in 2003 when enemies of Duk were against. He solely worked according to chronology and history that Hol, Nyarweng, Panyang and Pagak who are the inhabitants of Duk are Jieng Bor like Twic, and Bor (Athooc and Gok).
I appreciate “selfless bulldozer” Maker Deng Malou and his group for the hard push battle to have Duk County today. If we had no Makerdit, we would’ve no Duk County, we are all proud of today. Rest in Peace, uncle! Though you left us in doom and dark night with selfish and greedy leaders who are anti-progress in Duk County. Leaders who put their interests before the interests of the people of Duk. I feel courage when I read this verse in the Bible – Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you”. Duk people have never turned against SPLA in the 21 years of liberation and Struggle. We always stand our ground firmly and remain loyal to ourselves. No matter what. But some jealous and greedy leaders/people within Greater Bor still call us rebels in vain. Shame on you! We “Duk citizens” shall overcome all these devils’ temperaments and temptations by proving you wrong. All loopholes should be closed by meeting threshold.
People must know that Duk County is blessed and endowed with great potentials, for instance minerals, skilled labour force and virgin fertile soil which is suitable for agriculture. In short, Duk used to be a food-basket for Twic, Athooc and Gok for years but due to insecurity and flood at period around 1970-1980th. It has halted production of foods. Instead, those minerals which God gave us can be used to suit the interest of common citizens like infrastructures such as schools, health cares, roads and reformed rule of law and better economic transformation. My message to those few aristocratic elites who destabilize our county because of their self-interests is to step aside and leave Duk with young warm-blooded youth who have love and passion for the people of Duk and land. Currently old people have failed miserably to bring good fortunes to Duk. It’s time for them to retire.
Coming to the point which made me blast to write this article is: Kuol Manyang Juuk, the current defence minister and the previous governor of Jonglei State before John Kong Nyuon took over the post in 2013 before fracas within SPLM which resulted to deadly mutiny in the country for the last 2 years. Mr. Kuol was a guest speaker during the inauguration ceremony of the Duk Youth Association on 17th day of January 2016 in Juba. The inauguration was yummy and colourful because we Duk people love pride. At the ceremony, I caught Mr. Kuol uttering a quote referring to Duk people, “ten people should not gather and sit at the garden-side and claim for a county and their share as a community. Kuol and Makuei did lethally refer Duk people as rebels in January 2014 that starting from “Maar to Ayod” are rebels. Layman words intention are always similar and Kuol was among the oppositions who were against the creation of Duk County in 2003.
Without taking long after the inauguration – a week later after making rogue and invariably words regarding the number of state MPs to be given to Duk County are leaked out and Duk County will have 3 MPs, Twic East with 6 MPs and surprisingly Bor County with 12 MPs! Where is transparency here in the power sharing and resource allocation? Duk County is referred as Okiek. Okiek is the smallest tribe in Kenya and that’s why only 3 MPs would be given as their right by sophistic and greedy people within Twic East and most especially Bor County. People who turn their backs to their brothers and sisters when it’s eating time! I rebuke our Duk leaders for being reticent to their hypocritical brothers and sisters in Twic East and Bor Counties.
Addition to the above, old counties are supposed to be increased in accordance to 28 created states by President Salva Kiir Mayaardit, so Jonglei State’s current 3 counties will be increased to 7 counties and rumours are roaming around that Duk County will remain as one county, Twic East county will be increased to 2 counties and Bor county to 4 counties! Seriously? Where’s fairness here now? In my cognitive psychology, I wonder what kind of methodology is being used in the expansion of certain counties and the other one remained stagnant!? Could it be greediness or something else which has motivates some counties to take more counties than Duk County. I think it’s not true because it’s still a rumour. I’m keeping my legs crossed waiting to confirm officially that Duk County will remain as one county.
Population, however, according to roughly 5th Sudan population and housing general census 2008, Duk county population was 65,588 without the data of its inaccessible densely populated areas in swampy areas and most of its citizens residing in Twic East and Bor counties; Twic East population was 85,349 with Duk people inclusive and Bor county population was 221,106 including citizens from other 10 counties of Jonglei State. “Census” is defined as an official count of members of a population usually a residents or a citizens in a particular region. So here, Bor County should not boast to be most populous county in the region because of Bor Town as a state capital was and is encompassing people from other counties.
All nationalities like Ugandans, Kenyans, Sudanese, Americans, Ethiopians, etc, and other states’ citizens were present and counted in Bor Town during 2008 census. Thus, no one reached and took the actual population figure of Duk County because enumerators could not reached remote swampy areas of Duk due to inaccessibility, fear of eminent attack from Murle and Nuer. Not only that, some people went to swampy areas with their cattle and some inaccessible areas like Pageleng, Akoy, Pawai and a few places to mention, during the time of census.
Defence and resilience: we are known as warriors within Greater Bor when it comes to fighting. We don’t retreat. We don’t surrender our ancestral land of Duk to invaders. We fought numerous battles with our trouble-loving loving neighbours since 1927 but we emerged victorious without any help from either government or sisterly neighbours of Twic, and Bor (Athooc and Gok). There is no time we are regarded to be less in terms of population. Our people call us “warriors”. We don’t complain or finger-point at our neighbours. We don’t call them cowards or betrayers even if they’ve their sons who have against the movement or government. People praise us whenever we defeat enemies of the government, for example, when we defeated Lou and Murle in Duk County in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Thus, we can not to be swayed by politics of comprador and sectarianism. Albeit, some are pretty sycophants to dominate others in Jonglei state.
Moreover, our silence has been taken as an advantage by some greedy mediocrely politicians within Duk, Twic East and Bor counties, but it is cited that “silence is the best tool of human liberty”. On the civil principal rights of Duk citizens are denied every time because of their silence. We Duk people don’t fight over food. We don’t betray ourselves for food in bad times. We remain loyal. We love to be egalitarians and stand tall for our rights. We Duk youth must unite and speak with one voice in order for us to do one thing because our aging politicians have failed to air out our burning grievances to Jonglei state and the entire nation at large. We must use political immolation and sedition to frustrate this so-called group of interest within Duk County.
In conclusion, as a concerned son of Duk County, I would like to register my suggestion to Governor Philip Aguer, Kuol Manyang, Philip Thon, Makuei Lueth and Abiel Chan to respond and reverse the looming unfair division of state counties, sharing of powers and imbalanced allocations of state MPs. I request our leaders, chiefs, sons and daughters of Duk to withdraw their membership as Jonglei state as soon as possible until proper solution is put in place. Therefore, we will decide as citizens of Duk where we will join when it is clearly indicated that there is betrayal in Jonglei state.
We can either join Eastern Bieh state or Western Bieh state or be part of Eastern Lakes state or alternatively remain as administrative area till further notice. I thought our enemies were white army and Murle but they’re our own brothers. We do fight Nuer and Murle for hegemony not that we hate them. They’re good neighbours whenever they’ve decided to be good. I’ve now known that our real enemies are left with us in Jonglei state.
The writer is a graduate from the University of Nairobi with Bachelor of Arts in political science. He can be reached by his email tungayok22@gmail.com
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